The world didn't just lose a pop icon when Michael Jackson passed away yesterday, it also lost...a videogame star. Many of you probably know about Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for the Sega Genesis, but do you remember his bizarre inclusion in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 for the Sega Dreamcast? How about how he bravely continued his mission to save the galaxy with the power of dance that he started in Moonwalker, with a cameo in Space Channel 5 and a then a co-starring role in Space Channel 5 Part 2?

Join me for a trip down memory lane and let's relive the videogame career of Michael Jackson together, complete with video.

As someone who has had to review dozens of bad movie-licensed games over the years, I think it's safe to say that I'm generally terrified of them. For me, having an open mind about a game based on a movie is less "Let's see what this game has to offer" and more "I hope this game doesn't make me want to quit my job."

Given my jaded position on the genre, it's kind of freaking me out that I'm interested in playing not one, but two movie-licensed games: Transformers and Ghostbusters. I don't think that I'm quite ready to roll the dice on both games at once, so I'm going to list my personal pros and cons for each to determine a winner. Once I make my decision I'll rent the game, play it to completion, and share my experience with you next week.

This is my version of game-reviewer therapy and you're invited along for the ride. Let's take a look at the two candidates:

Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a person cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. Each week I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from your game system of choice without leaving your house. Plus, if you read now I'll also toss in some choice (usually less-than-helpful) quotes from folks around the Internet at absolutely no extra charge! This week I swing and miss with Real Tennis 2009, save the world with Sam & Max, go old school with Solid Snake, throw paper, and take control of a samurai toaster.

Editor's Note: Aaron brings up a good point: Sometimes an ad can be so stupid that it's actually brilliant. Though looking at this ad reminds me of an ancient Wookie proverb, especially when playing against someone such as the Hulk: Just let the angry green giant win. -Michael

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Some of the Gamervision guys were hanging out in a comic shop when they came across this advertisement in the back of a comic book:

Seeing this ad sent my mind racing. The first thing I thought was that the Hulk would get frustrated with the Wii's iffy motion-sensing capabilities and -- wrist-strap be damned -- throw the Wii Remote through the television in about two seconds. Of course, I've often wanted to do the same thing, and that's when I realized that the Hulk and I really aren't that different...

Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a person cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. Each week I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from your game system of choice without leaving your house. Plus, if you read now I'll also toss in some choice (usually less-than-helpful) quotes from folks around the Internet at absolutely no extra charge! This week I get in touch with my inner-Mongol, hang out on Big Surf Island, get crushed in Scrabble, save you money on classic Genesis games, and force myself to think about the original Killzone again.

In my previous life as a GameSpot editor my job was to review sports games. That meant I got to play lots and lots of yearly sequels. Here's the problem: most games, sports-related or not, don't need to be yearly releases. Activision wisely put the Tony Hawk franchise on the shelf for a year and used that time to totally change how the game will be played. Now people are once again excited for Tony Hawk. But some companies just aren't getting the message that sometimes less is more, so I've put together a list of five games that need to call a time out, take a break, and regroup.

And the nominees/offenders are (see the full list after the jump)....

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Tiger Woods
I enjoy the Tiger Woods series quite a bit, but the changes from year to year are barely measurable. EA adds a few courses and golfers and takes away a few courses and golfers. The putting system gets altered a bit, but everyone still shoots 10-15 under par. Then they change a few menus, make a few minor enhancements and send the game on its merry way.

This year we're getting yet another new announcer, more people in the crowd, and thicker grass. That should be a $20 downloadable expansion (if that), not a full-priced game.

My advice to EA is to take a year off, revamp the career mode, double the number of courses, and add a course creator. Then we're talking a must-buy game.

Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a person cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. Each week I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from your game system of choice without leaving your house.

This week I relive the "Great Final Fantasy Heist of '97," crash and burn in Flight Control, save you $5 on Wolfenstein 3D, enjoy dying in Bango, type the name "Blue Suede Goo," and become hopelessly addicted to Star Defense.

Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a fanboy cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. Each week I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from the download capabilities of your Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, DS, iPhone, PSP, and PC. You don't have to take my word for it though; I'll also be perusing and grabbing choice quotes from forums, Twitter, and reviews to give you an idea of what the Internet has to say.

This week I take a look at demos for inFamous and Tiger Woods 10, check out the new Resistance space in PlayStation Home, shoot down some bad guys in iFighter, try on Majora's Mask, and attempt to kill one of the titular "monsters" in the latest Monster Hunter.

Editor's Note: We're hoping this is the first of many posts you'll read on Bitmob from GameSpot alum Aaron Thomas, who also helped us out with his work behind the camera on next week's Hoe Down episode. And he's leading the upcoming intervention we're planning for Dan 'Shoe' Hsu; we'll see if Shoe's ready to kick his own achievements habit. We don't think he's quite hit rock bottom yet, though. -Demian

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Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I have played Xbox 360 games for the sole purpose of artificially boosting my gamerscore. I have played terrible games on purpose; I have forsaken good games for children's games; I have adjusted sliders, stacked rosters, and played as both players one and two so that I could easily accumulate more points. My sins are too many to mention, but I shall list some of my more egregious acts here. Please be patient, this may take a while.

Cars - In February of 2007 I spent an entire Sunday playing Cars, the children's game based on the Pixar flick of the same name. It was a gorgeous day outside, but I spent it indoors tractor tipping with Mater and racing my way to victory in the Radiator Springs GP and Rustbucket Race-O-Rama. Oh, I forgot to mention I used cheat codes for unlimited boost. Sorry about that.

College Hoops 2K6 - Get 40 points with any player, six blocks with any player, 20 steals with any team...you get the idea. Remember the girls basketball coach that got fired for beating the other school 100-0? He had nothing on me. These tasks should have been fun, but what did I do? Change the half length, pit the best team against the worst, and set the game to the lowest difficulty. Even then I had to cheese a little bit and take shots from half-court to make sure I grabbed enough rebounds.

Superman Returns - In March of 2007 I put a rubber band around the right analog stick and left the game on overnight in an effort to get the Frequent Flyer achievement for flying 10,000 miles. My only justification here is that I was at least smart enough to know not to play the game long enough to accrue those miles naturally. Trust me, it's little consolation.